You may want to break out your sunglasses Saturday night as members of the Island Equipment Owners Association festoon their tow trucks and big rigs with thousands of lights for the annual Truck Parade and Food Drive.
The parade, now in its 24th year — there was no parade in 2020 — boasts a fleet of 80 trucks of various sizes decked out in Christmas lights, travelling from downtown Victoria to Colwood.
“Our members put a lot of time into getting their trucks ready for the parade, our one public event of the year,” said Wendy Watt, manager of the Island Equipment Owners Association.
She hopes that as people enjoy the spectacle, they take the opportunity to support local food banks.
“This is our way to give back to the community — and help raise awareness for food banks,” she said.
Donations of food and funds will go to the Mustard Seed Street Church, the Goldstream Food Bank and the Saanich Peninsula Lions Food Bank.
The association has co-ordinated with businesses and municipalities along the truck’s route, setting up collection stations in various communities.
The View Royal Fire Department will be at the intersection of Helmcken Road and Watkiss Way to collect donations, and Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre will have a truck on site.
Fennell’s RV at 1614 Island Hwy. in View Royal is providing hot chocolate and hot dogs by donation, as well as collecting food.
At Sands Funeral Home at 317 Goldstream Ave. in Colwood, an Emery Electric truck will collect donations, while the Colwood fire hall on Metchosin Road will be offering hot chocolate and snacks and collecting donations.
The event starts at 5 p.m. from the Breakwater District at Ogden Point and finishes at about 8 p.m. at Royal Bay.
Watt said that it will take 17 to 20 minutes to see all the trucks go by. The first and last trucks in the convoy will have GPS trackers active on Saturday, so families can follow the parade and figure out when it will arrive at their location.
“It’s just like the Santa tracker,” said Watt.
At the end of the parade, the trucks will park in a row along Timberline Road, a new road parallel to Latoria Road in Royal Bay, so people can get up close to the big rigs and meet the operators.
For more information or to track the trucks, go to ieoa.ca/ieoa-truck-parade-food-drive.
